Mark Travis and Kenny Broberg

Mark Travis, Pre-concert lecture

Mark Travis is the New York Philharmonic’s Associate Director, Media Production, and has produced the Orchestra’s broadcasts since 2003. He has more than 20 years of experience in the music industry as a writer, producer, broadcaster, lecturer, and audio engineer. From 1999 to 2011 he served as a writer and producer for Chicago’s WFMT Radio Network, where he wrote and produced more than 800 nationally syndicated programs, including the Bucksbaum Family Lyric Opera of Chicago broadcasts. As a freelance producer, he has produced English-language broadcasts for the Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Bavarian Staatsoper, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Travis also has an extensive discography as a music producer of recordings by artists ranging from the New York Philharmonic to William Warfield, Jenny Lin, Jeffrey Siegel, Susan Merdinger, Maria-Luisa Rayan-Forero, and the Chicago Chorale, released by the Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, Random House, and Koch labels. An accomplished singer and classical guitarist, Mark Travis has also served as host and producer for numerous podcasts, and his writing has appeared in a number of trade publications, including Opera News. He has moderated events as part of the New York Philharmonic’s Insights at the Atrium series since 2011, and he also serves as a teaching artist for the 92nd Street Y Concerts Schools Project. Mr. Travis is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences and serves on both the Grand Jury and Radio Advisory Board for the New York Festivals International Broadcasting Competition. He has also served as juror and Music Committee Chair for the United States Artists panel in Los Angeles. The three-time Grammy nominee has been the recipient of more than 20 medals and trophies for his broadcast work, including the 2015 Grand Jury Prize from the New York Festivals and an AVA Platinum award.

Kenny Broberg, Piano

American pianist Kenny Broberg continues to build a reputation as “one of the most intelligent and intense artists on the concert stage today” (Theater Jones) with fresh interpretations complemented by a natural, honest stage presence. The Minneapolis native first came to international attention when he captured the silver medal at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition with performances marked by “an imaginative shaping of themes, revelation of inner voices, and an unfailing sense of momentum” (Texas Classical Review). He followed this with a bronze medal win at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition, adding to previous prizes at the Hastings, Sydney, Seattle, and New Orleans International Piano Competitions.

Kenny has performed across Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America, and worked with such esteemed conductors as Ludovic Morlot, Kent Nagano, Leonard Slatkin, Vasily Petrenko, Nicholas Milton, John Storgårds, Carlos Miguel Prieto, and Stilian Kirov. He has collaborated with the Royal Philharmonic, Minnesota, Kansas City Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestras, among others.

Lauded for “the ability to build a strikingly imaginative and intelligent program… [leading] his audience through a superbly conceived, brilliantly executed journey” (Theater Jones), Kenny enjoys juxtaposing the novel and familiar, bringing light to lesser-known works alongside classic repertoire. Recent and upcoming highlights include his Spivey Hall debut; a tour of rural Australian communities, along with a return to Sydney; residencies at the Mariinsky International Piano, Stars on the Baikal, Strings, and Sunriver Music Festivals; and recitals in Yokohama, Nagoya, Moscow, New York, and Los Angeles.

He has been featured on NPR, WQXR, APM’s Performance Today, MPR, and ABC (Australia) radio. In 2019, Kenny appeared at the Texas Medal of Arts Awards Gala, performing for honorees including Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Holliday; he is also a finalist for the 2021 American Pianists Awards. Several of his performances at the 2016 Sydney International Piano Competition were included on CDs released on the Universal Music Australia label. His solo debut album was released in August 2017 on the Decca Gold label, featuring one of his signature pieces, the Barber Piano Sonata, as well as works by Bach, Schubert, Chopin, and Franck.

The first musician in his family, Kenny started piano lessons at age 6, when he was first fascinated by his mother’s upright—a wedding gift from her parents. He studied for nine years with Dr. Joseph Zins before entering the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree with Nancy Weems in 2016. He currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri, where he continues to be mentored by 2001 Cliburn Gold Medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University. Alongside his teachers, he is influenced by the recordings of Alfred Cortot, William Kapell, and Claudio Arrau.

A hockey and baseball athlete in high school, Kenny enjoys watching and playing sports; he’s even known to catch a livestream of a game while warming up for a performance.